


Skinny Love ➳ Daryl Dixon

by SadEyesAndBlueSkies



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angry Sex, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hate Sex, Kidnapping, Kink Exploration, Love, Love/Hate, Multi, Oral Sex, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Spanking, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:03:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6161890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SadEyesAndBlueSkies/pseuds/SadEyesAndBlueSkies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[When Daryl Dixon falls in love with you, he's going to love you for the rest of his life.]<br/>- A Daryl Dixon Fanfic</p><p>'Before the dead rose and hunted the living, life was as normal as it could get. The end of the end was something you read about in scary stories, you watched it in horror films. It wasn't something that could happen in real life; until it did.</p><p>Juliet was pushed into a world she wasn't prepared for, a world where you had to fight every single day just to be rewarded with only the gift of still being able to breath. Lucky for her, she wasn't pushed into this world of fight or flight alone.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Helloo! I have been dying to write this fanfiction for months now and finally feel ready to do so. This fanfic backtracks all the way to season one and follows Daryl Dixon and a certain bombshell called Juliet as they are forced to survive in the apocalypse. Things may start off slow, and I apologize! There will be non-con elements later on in the fic and chapters containing such elements will be tagged as such.
> 
> First chapter is a little bit longer and a little bit slow just to get things into motion.
> 
> Comments and kudo's = more frequent chapter updates.
> 
> Enjoy!

Juliet never considered herself to be a woman with many fears, she could handle heights, spiders didn't creep her out and dark alley ways never sent chills rushing along her spine. Sickness had never worried her, either. When the outbreak had started in Los Angeles she wasn't the least bit concerned, things had gone to hell over there; but she lived in Georgia and she genuinely believed the Government when they promised they had a handle on whatever it was that was happening there. She wasn't going to worry herself over something that was clearly taken care of. It was frivolous. Frivolous things never kept her from getting whatever it was she needed done.

So, when her ride had cancelled on her that night, she wasn't the least bit thrown. It'd only be a few miles to walk from the club back to her house, cut that down to one mile if she cut through the woods. Of course there would be the possibility of getting lost, but she wouldn't worry herself with it. It was the woods, they could only go so deep before she wound up somewhere.

Carefully, she slipped her heels off of her feet and let off a small sigh. "Those are the Devil's shoes." She mumbled, tossing the black stilettos into her bag. She'd been dancing in them all night and was more than ready for the change into a more comfortable pair of shoes.

"You sure you don't need a ride, Jules? I don't mind." The velvet voice of her favorite co worker chimed into her ears, and Juliet glanced over to the blonde and offered a sincere grin.

"Nah, it's out of your way. Besides, it's gorgeous out. A little walk won't kill me." Juliet reassured the girl, nodding her head a bit as she finished lacing up her combat boots. She had learned very early to always bring a change of clothes for when she got out of work, walking home in skimpy little outfits got her attention she'd much rather avoid.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she gave a final wave in the direction of the other girls who were still taking off their make up before heading for the side door. It creaked as she pressed it closed behind her, but she paid it no mind as she started down the dimly lit road towards the forest. If she stayed straight she should come out near her street, easy.

Glancing back at the club, her eyes flicked over the sign that read 'The Original' and she sighed, casting her gaze forward. She never intended on becoming an exotic dancer, and she surely never intended on staying one as long as she had. It was a spur of the moment decision when she was eighteen, and the money she brought in kept her there much longer than she had planned. Being a dancer paid for her apartment and while it was small it fit her needs and got her out of her parent's house early in life. They weren't proud of what she did, her parents, and the reputation she held around town was slightly tarnished. But she had been saving up to leave the backwoods town she grew up in and was almost at her goal.

When she reached the beginning of the forest her current thoughts were foggy, she would now need to locate her way through the woods and towards her apartment without getting lost.

Easy enough.

Pulling her bag tighter around her shoulder, she pressed on and listened to the sound of the forest crunching beneath her boots.

Her walk for the next hour was uneventful. The woods around her were quiet, and while normally silence never bothered her this silence unnerved her to no end; the woods were never silent. Too many creatures lived within them for them to be this silent.

"Something's not right." Her voice was quiet as she spoke to herself, and when she finally paused her own noisy steps she heard a few that didn't belong to her. The noise she heard, however, couldn't exactly be described as footsteps. The noise was more of a rustling, like something being dragged over the countless sticks and leaves that littered the ground. It was clumsy and constant.

Her eyes strained in the darkness, attempting to see whatever it was that was causing the noise. As she searched, her nose crinkled up and she was greeted with a foul stench in the air; whatever it was, it was rotting. She shook her head, a look of disgust on her features as she attempted to avoid breathing in the smell. As she looked around, she noticed a small structure in the distance. Maybe someone would be there and could help her, or maybe it was empty and she'd sleep there until morning when she could find her way back to town. A world of possibilities resided in that small building, and not one of them scared her.

"One way to find out." She mumbled, and just as she began starting forward she stopped dead in her tracks. The shuffling was much louder, and there was groaning. The noise was similar to someone in a great amount of pain. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

Her mind flashed to the sicknesses that had broken out in Atlanta and Los Angeles, she remembered seeing pictures on the news of people rotting away in their beds, their bodies decaying on them as if they were dead and buried while they were still alive. She shuddered at the thought, glancing over her shoulder only to see the figure that had been following after her. Squinting slightly, she saw it was a tall man reeking of rotting flesh, his groans were noisy and uncomfortable as he shuffled his way towards her.

"Are you okay?" She called out, furrowing her eyebrows as she moved to take a step closer. Her fingers moved to her back pocket as she carefully slipped her pocket knife open and held it close to her frame.

She wasn't greeted with a response, only a louder groan as he shuffled towards her. His movements unnerved her, and deciding to go along with her better judgement she turned and began to run towards the building she had noticed earlier. The man didn't move any faster, still shuffling after her at a slower pace as she looked over her shoulder.

A hand latching onto her shoulder tore her off balance, and she was flung onto the ground. The stench was overwhelming and she resisted the urge to vomit as a corpse crawled its way up her frame. She let out a scream, shoving at the person and kicking her legs in attempt to knock them off. "Get off!"

Her voice was a half-hearted plea as she struggled under the weight of the man, her pocket knife a few mere inches away from her hand. Gasping out quietly, she latched her fingers around the blue handle and slammed the blade into the person's neck just as it began trying to claw its way up her torso. To her dismay, this made no difference.

Her heart was beating in her ears as she struggled to knock the thing off of her and in the intensity of her struggle she vaguely saw the figure running towards her in the darkness. The man's head was yanked back by a hand and a knife was driven through its skull without a single struggle, as if its bones were nothing and ready to cave. She gagged as the corpse fell motionless on top of her, and her eyes moved frantically towards her savior. "You killed him.."

"Don't got all day." The stranger huffed, grabbing at her arm and yanking her to her feet. His hands were calloused and rough against her smooth skin, he smelled vaguely of sweat and earth as she felt his hand wrap around her wrist. "C'mon."

He dragged her towards the building she had originally been walking towards quickly, her small strides struggling to keep up with him as he forced her along behind him. "What the hell were those things.." She questioned, glancing over her shoulder as she noticed the outline of many more figures in the woods. She had been surrounded by them before, completely clueless.

"Do you really want to stop and chat about this right now?" He hissed, thrusting her ahead of him onto the porch and pushing her into the house before locking the door behind him. As she was pushed inside, she noticed someone coming out of the other room. He was taller, his hair longer than the man who had saved her.

Wrapping her arms around her slender frame, she rubbed her eyes slightly as she adjusted to the light in the cabin. Her eyes began to scan the room; a recliner on the far left of the room, an old TV resided in front of it and a cluster of magazines were scattered along the coffee table. The room was small and tattered, clearly lived in. "Does this have to do with that outbreak? The one in Atlanta?"

"Somethin' to do with that." The stranger commented, pushing his fingers through the brown hair that resided on his head. His eyes were tired as he gazed at her, "Who's this, Daryl?"

"Dunno." He mumbled, the gravel in his voice sounding as his broad shoulders shrugged slightly. "She was screamin' up a storm so I brought her in."

The man looked her over, there was a long mess of dark hair pulled back into a messy pony tail, her eyes were large, like a Doe's, her clothes were a mess and dirt was scattered along the fabric. "Did it get you?"

Juliet didn't flinch under his gaze, she simply stared him down until he spoke. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked herself over. "No? Nearly ripped my shirt but it didn't get through.."

"I'm gonna need proof on that." His voice was slow, and he watched as a scowl crossed over her features. "Look, a single scratch from one of them fuckers is a death sentence. You're in my house I'm sorry for wanting to make sure we ain't got a time bomb in our living room."

The man he called Daryl watched her with a raised eyebrow, his blue eyes shifting between his Uncle and the girl. Shaking his head slightly, he pushed hair out of his face before walking out of the room and into the kitchen.

Juliet let off an unpleasant sound as she walked over, showing the man her pale arms. A few scars scattered her skin, but nothing fresh. She showed off her neck, and tilted her head at odd angles before lifting her shirt enough to show her stomach. "Alright. 'M sorry." He mumbled, waving his hand dismissively as he rubbed his face. "I'm Malcolm."

She watched as he peaked around the doorway and she nodded her head slowly, looking over herself. Her clothes were now dirty, but there were no tears. She hadn't been harmed. "It's fine.." She mumbled softly, walking towards him and into the room she now knew to be the kitchen. "I'm Juliet."

Malcolm offered a small, crooked grin as he looked over his shoulder into the kitchen. The man who had saved Juliet's life, the man called Daryl, had been making an awful lot of noise tearing open the cabinets and shoving supplies into a bag.

"We're gonna need to get out of here soon, alright? Do you have a place to go? Family, anything? This place ain't safe anymore." Malcolm raised an eyebrow, looking her over. He wasn't sure it would be smart to leave her alone if they could help it.

"I'm alone, I mean there's my apartment in town but other than that no.." Her voice was quiet, and shoulders rose in a small shrug. She had left home at eighteen and hadn't seen her parents ever since. Her thoughts went to them, they'd moved to Atlanta not long after she moved out.

"You're welcome to come with us." Malcolm offered, pulling up a bag off the recliner and beginning to walk into the other room. "Don't mind this." He mumbled, beginning to stuff weaponry into the bag. Juliet's eyes widened and instinctively she stepped backwards. She wasn't afraid of guns, she just hadn't seen so many in one house before.

"Is that really necessary?" She mumbled, watching as ammunition was stuffed into the bag as well. It was only a little outbreak, why would they need that many guns?

"It's gettin' bad out there. From the way I hear it I don't see this goin' too well in the long run." He spoke quietly, his eyes casting a downwards gaze towards the bag before shrugging. "Better to be over prepared than not at all. Know how to use one of these?"

As she shook her head, she heard the gravel voice of her rescuer. "Course she doesn't." He grunted, tossing the bag onto the chair next to the bag containing the weapons. Juliet narrowed her gaze at him, though she couldn't exactly find herself getting annoyed, he wasn't wrong. "So we're babysittin' then?"

Malcolm shot Daryl a nasty look, his grey eyes narrowing slightly as he sighed. "You brought her in here and I'm not letting her loose out there to get herself killed. She'll learn and be a good asset and you're gonna be civil about it alright?"

Daryl glared at his uncle, his arms crossed over chest as he grunted in response. He didn't enjoy being reprimanded like a child. His blue eyes cast down to the small girl that stood on the other side of the room, a vague form of regret passed over his thoughts as he considered having to watch her back as well as his own. Instead of responding, he simply grunted in reply before snatching the keys off the coffee table.

Malcolm rolled his eyes and snatched the keys out of his hand. "I drive." He reminded, picking up the bag of supplies and pushing it into Juliet's hands. Instantly her arms wrapped around the thing and held it close to her chest, her eyebrows raising slightly. "Gonna make a stop by your apartment. Let you grab anything you may need. Town's going to shit, we need to go."

Juliet nodded slowly, her eyes moving to watch as Daryl slung the bag of weapons and ammo over his shoulder, his hand gripping the large crossbow with ease as he shot a fairly nasty look in her direction. She squinted at him slightly, eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

Malcolm cleared his throat, flinging open the door and making a run for the truck. Instinctively, Juliet went after him quickly, a small noise leaving her lips as she made note of how many bodies had been hobbling their way towards the small cabin.

Daryl wasn't far behind her as he watched her attempt to climb into the lifted truck. She was struggling and it was wasting time. "C'mon Bambi." His free hand found her elbow and he easily pushed her small frame up into the seating, scooting her over into the middle before slamming the door behind him and placing the bag and crossbow on his lap.

"I had it." She huffed, holding the bag closer to her chest as her full lips were poking out in the perfect pout. Daryl simply snorted in reply, his glare moving out the window as Malcolm forced the truck over a corpse and off onto the road.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the sucky ending, but I have big plans I promise~  
> I also wound up changing 'ShyAnn' to Juliet.

"Got your keys?" Malcolm glanced at Daryl as they each stepped out of the truck. Juliet shuffled towards the edge of the seat and slid down carefully as Daryl grunted in response to his uncle's question. "Good. I'm gonna be lookin' around, see if I can't find Merle around anywhere before we go. You go in there with her and make sure all's well."

Daryl's eyes narrowed at this, though he made no noise to argue as he motioned for the bag his uncle carried. Malcolm tossed it across the hood of the truck and Daryl slipped his hand under the strap and slung it over his shoulder with ease before looking down at Juliet. "In and out." He warned, his narrowed gaze scanning the streets slowly.

"Sir yes sir." She mumbled, pulling the backpack she had come with tighter on her back while hugging the one that held their supplies close to her chest. Her eyes flicked up to the battered building that resided before them. It was old and the white paint was now faded and yellowed. The door squeaked as she pushed it open and sheepishly she pointed to the stairs. "Second floor." 

Daryl nodded, his eyes flicking over the large building as he allowed Juliet to lead the way. He stayed close behind as she walked along the creaking steps effortlessly. As they approached the door her eyebrows furrowed and she looked up to Daryl. "Could you hold this a second?" She mumbled, offering a small smile as he lifted the bag from her grasp. "Thanks." Pulling her own bag forward, she rummaged through the front pouch for a few moments before pulling out a bundle of keys. "Ahah." She cooed, glancing up to the man before unlocking the door.

"You can come in." She reminded, taking the bag of supplies from his grasp and leading him into the living room. The room was small, the couch was faded and tan with dark red throw pillows tossed carelessly onto the cushions. A few bills were scattered along the coffee table and the tv was left on without any sound. Daryl gave off a raised eyebrow, but Juliet offered a small shrug. "My cat gets lonely sometimes, so I leave the tv on when I go out." She explained, and Daryl snorted in reply, though he made no comment on how ridiculous it sounded.

Leading him into the kitchen, she unzipped the bag of supplies and placed it on the kitchen table. "Just..take whatever you think we'll need from in here.." Her voice was soft as she glanced over the run down kitchen. A few dishes were left in the sink and the fridge was nearly empty. She'd miss the place, despite how run down it was.

Daryl watched the girl, her large doe like eyes glancing around the room with an unreadable expression inside of them. He had no quarrel with leaving his home, after all it hadn't been much of a home to begin with. Too many terrible memories resided on the inside of that cabin, he was glad to leave it behind. Her, well, he honestly didn't know what she was feeling about leaving this place behind.

Before he had a chance to read into her gaze, she had been walking off into another room. Letting off a silent sigh, he got to work in raiding her cabinets. Juliet pushed open the door to her room, her eyes scanning over the walls slowly. Old photographs and letters were all pinned to a bulletin board on the wall above her dresser, the covers were thrown messily across her bed and a few mixed up socks resided on the floor. She let off a small sigh, shaking her head before taking a few steps forward. Pulling out the drawers of her dresser she began placing a few hoodies and shorts into her backpack. Leggings, jackets, tank tops, jeans, shorts and plenty of socks were shoved into the bag and eventually her eyes landed on the photographs.

Out of the many scattered pictures only one held any real importance. She latched her fingers around the photograph and allowed her eyes to scan it. It was her mom and her dad standing on their old porch, Juliet sat on the steps tucked neatly into her twin brother's side. This picture had happened only weeks before the accident. It was all she really held onto from him. Carefully, she folded the picture up and slipped it into her back pocket before grabbing her bag, flinching at the new weight, and slinging it over her shoulder. 

Daryl had been standing in the doorway, his narrowed gaze watching as her fingers shied over the edges of photographs and dresser tops. She looked startled when she turned around and noticed the man staring at her, but the look was quickly replaced with a small smile. "Are you ready?"

He shrugged slightly, his eyes glancing down from her face before looking around the room. "Waitin' on you, Bambi." The nickname left his lips for a second time, and he hadn't really caught it when he said it. She just reminded him of a doe, the big wide eyes, the innocence behind them, she didn't have anybody but herself.

Her eyes flicked up at the new name, and a small smile passed her lips as she thought about it. She didn't know his reasoning behind the name, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. But in her eyes, the nickname was the start of them possibly getting along. As she looked up at him, his eyes dragged away from around the room and finally landed on her. His narrowed gaze softened slightly and she offered a small smile. "Where do you think we'll go?"

Daryl's eyes were soft as he glanced down at her from looking around the room. As he heard her question, he let off a shrug and a small noise in response. He wasn't sure where they'd go. He had passively heard about a safe haven in Atlanta, though he had little faith in it being true. Then, his thoughts fell onto Merle. He couldn't just leave his brother in this mess. "Probably gonna find my brother, first."

Juliet had been ready to accept the noise as an answer when he surprised her by elaborating. He'd even greeted his own family with silence. As she heard him, she nodded slowly. He had a brother, too. He had family. Her lower lip shifted between her teeth and she nodded her head slowly. "We should get back to the truck. Malcolm might be waiting for us.."

He allowed another grunt to pass his lips before flicking his head towards the door, motioning for her to follow him. "Stay close." He mumbled, pulling the bag tighter around his shoulder before walking towards the front door. His eyes flicked one last gaze around the apartment before silently opening the door and stepping over the threshold. 

He paused when he noticed Juliet wasn't following behind him. Glancing back, he watched as she stood hesitantly in the doorway, her eyes flicking over the rooms slowly as her hand rested on the door frame. Daryl cleared his throat, glancing down towards the wooden panels on the floor before Juliet glanced over to him. "Sorry, it's just bittersweet I guess. I've been wanting to leave this place for months. Now that it's actually happening.." She shrugged a bit and motioned her hand forward. "Sorry."

Daryl left his gaze on her for another short moment. His eyes passing over her wide eyes and pale skin, her full lips and the forced smile she curled them into. A tidal wave of emotions resided behind the poker face she held, but Daryl only nodded his head and looked down towards the stairs. The massive banging that sounded from below made him stop in his tracks, and instantly he held his arm out and stopped Juliet from moving any further. He knew that sound well. Someone was kicking in a door.

He shook his head and moved his hand to Juliet's arm, leading her back into her apartment and closing the door behind them. When the lock clicked, he looked at her and dropped his hand from her skin. "We're gonna need another way out of here." 

Juliet furrowed her eyebrows as she was pulled into the room, but nodded her head obediently as he mentioned another way out. Her mind went blank under the pressure, and the footsteps that sounded up the stairs brought her back. "The fire escape." She breathed, pointing her fingers towards the opened window. 

Without hesitation Daryl pushed his hand against the small of her back and ushered her to the window. Effortlessly she ducked her head and went out onto the ledge, watching as the door to her apartment began shifting against its lock. "Shit." Daryl cursed under his breath, and within minutes he was handing over the bags to Juliet.

The door was kicked open effortlessly and Juliet flinched backwards. The man was large with an untamed scruffle attempting to grow on his face. His hair was unkempt and brown and he looked furious to see them escaping. He rushed towards the window just as Daryl stepped onto the fire escape, and just as his hand pressed down on the window sill, Daryl forced the window down onto his skin, crushing his fingers. 

The cry he emitted caused Juliet to turn away in disgust, her jaw clenching as Daryl pulled a bag over his shoulder. The hand on her elbow caused her to flinch, though it was obvious she relaxed briefly when she remembered it was only Daryl. He pushed her towards the ladder as he held the window down against the mans bleeding hand. The screaming was muffled by the glass, but Juliet made out multiple "I'm going to kill you's."

Her feet carried her up the ladder effortlessly, and when she was pulling herself up onto the next fire ledge she glanced down to Daryl. "Go." He hissed, motioning her forward as he moved quickly up the ladder. The window was free to be opened by the angry man at any moment and Daryl wasn't really in love with the idea of fighting someone that size on a fire escape three stories up. 

Juliet only nodded, casting a frantic gaze towards the window as the man attempted to pry it open. It was jammed on his fingers. Forcing herself to look away, she focused on the sound of her footsteps on the rungs of the ladder. She counted Daryl's footsteps behind her. "Son of a bitch." Daryl hissed as the window was flung open, and once again Juliet paused. "Go!" His voice was poison, but she obeyed and rushed up until she flung herself onto the roof as quickly as she could. The man was pursuing Daryl slowly, it was clear a fear of heights was slowing him down. 

As Daryl flung the bags onto the roof, a hand grasped his ankle and tried to pull him down the ladder. Daryl let out a grunt as he nearly slipped, his hands gripping onto the metal quickly as he listened to it groan under the weight. He kicked his leg free, landing the heel of his boot onto the strangers face. "Fucker." Daryl hissed, repeating the motion before forcing himself up the last few rungs. 

The bolts were caving just as Daryl moved to climb onto the roof, and Juliet's hands reached out to wrap around his arm. She pulled forward as hard as she could, sending them both tumbling backwards onto the stable ground just as the fire escape caved and collapsed four stories. The noise was deafening and Juliet moved to peak over the ledge. Daryl stood up, brushing the dirt off of his hands as he looked in her direction. There was a look of confusion on his face as he watched her. She could have grabbed the bags and kept moving, like he had told her to do. But she stayed back, she looked out for him. He swallowed hard, glancing towards the ladder down on the other end of the roof.

Juliet's blue eyes stayed planted on the bloodied man crushed under piles of metal, her heart seizing in her chest. "Is he.." Her voice cut off at the sound of the groaning. Mobs of the undead shuffled towards the sound, and the screaming that ensued answered her question. "Oh my god."

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows, pulling the bag onto his back and moving his hand towards her. "Don't look at that." He mumbled, motioning for her to move forward. Her eyes were frozen on the scene below for only a few minutes before his voice caught her attention. She struggled to rip her gaze away from the man as he was eaten alive, and her eyes flicked up to Daryl's face. His expression was unreadable, but he nodded his head towards the ladder and turned away.

She followed him down, jumping the last few feet with ease before following him down the alleyway. Their attention was taken away from their surroundings by the sound of a new, more familiar scream. It belonged to Malcolm.

Daryl nodded his head at the opening of the alley and both took off sprinting. Once again panic rose and her chest felt tight, her heart was pounding in her ears and her eyes were frantic as she looked around. She'd spotted him first, and her heart sank into her stomach at the sight. Malcolm was on the ground, a small swarm around him. Daryl stood motionless in the entrance of the alley, his eyes glued to the scene before him. Juliet looked away, her hand moving to rest on his forearm. "Don't look at that." She repeated, her jaw tense.

He tensed up as he watched one of the only decent members of his family get mauled. His jaw clenched so tight his teeth began to ache. The hand on his arm caused him to jump, his daze broke and he pulled his arm away carefully before nodding slowly. "Yeah.." He mumbled, his voice near breaking as he glanced towards the truck. "C'mon."

Juliet didn't push it any further, she only followed after Daryl and kept quiet. She wasn't sure what to say, if she should say anything at all. Daryl had shut down, and as the keys were pressed into the ignition a fire was started in his veins. He had to find Merle.

She put the bags in the middle of them, pulling her knees up to her chest as she stared out the window at the carnage. The backwoods town she'd grown up in had fallen into a hell that was inescapable. Her eyes fell down onto her lap as her attention moved to Daryl. She knew he was quiet, but he hadn't said a single word since his Uncle. "Are you okay?" She whispered, turning her icey gaze onto him. 

Daryl had been in his own head, repeatedly playing over what he had seen. His grip on the steering wheel was deadly and his eyes stayed on the road. His internal dilemma was paused by her voice. It was a stupid question, and he shot a fairly annoyed look in her direction. However, he couldn't bring himself to say anything. He was at a loss for words. He did what he did best and stayed quiet, allowing a shoulder to shrug before continuing on down the road.

Juliet took the answer and didn't push the matter forward. She left it alone and let her head rest back against the seat. He would work himself out, something told her he had been through a lot worse. The truck pulled up in front of a bar, and Daryl looked over to Juliet. "Stay in the truck."

Her eyebrows furrowed and as she went to argue, he glared at her. Her lips parted as she went to speak, "Ten minutes." 

"Fine." He mumbled, waving his hand dismissively and climbing out of the truck.

Juliet watched as he moved into the bar, letting the door silently close behind him. Her eyes moved to a silver motorcycle with swastika's along the side before she snorted, shaking her head. She once again rested her head back on the seat and her eyes fluttered closed as she attempted to relax. The vision she was greeted with when she closed her eyes had other plans. The man had impaled his leg on a bar from the fall, his screaming was gargled as he choked on his own blood. Her eyes shot open just as her door was yanked open, her heart began racing until she was greeted with Daryl's scowl. "You scared the shit out of me."

He grunted, leaning on the door and looking down at her. "C'mon." He mumbled, stepping back a few feet to allow her to get out. Once her feet hit the pavement, the door to the bar swung open and she watched as a man stepped out. 

She had seen him numerous times at the club, and she'd watched him get kicked out quite often as well. Recognition flooded his face as he saw her, and a large grin plastered itself on his lips. "Well, well. Little Darylina picked up a new toy."

Daryl's eyebrows furrowed instantly, and he looked down at Juliet only to see her eyes wide and anger etching itself into her pale skin. It didn't suit such a porcelain face. "Excuse me?" Her voice dripped in annoyance as she stepped backwards slightly.

"Merle." Daryl grunted, his eyes falling off of Juliet and landing at his brother.

"What?" He huffed, grinning down at her. "I'm glad you picked us up a toy. Maybe she'll perform for us sometime." Daryl's eyebrows furrowed as he looked down to Juliet for an explanation, but just as her lips parted to speak Merle cut her off. "What? She didn't tell you? She's one of them dancers at The Original."

Daryl paused, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked down at the girl next to him. How did someone like her wind up at a place like that? He didn't understand, but heat rose to his neck as aggravation took over. Shaking his head, he looked at Merle. "Cut the shit."

Merle rolled his eyes slightly as he took a few steps forward, the playful grin never leaving his lips. "What? Don't wanna share?"

"Merle, I mean it shut the hell up." He huffed slightly, and as he crossed his arms over his chest he resembled a pouting child. Juliet swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat, shaking her head as she got back into the truck. Daryl listened to the door slam, and he looked back at her. Her eyes were cast down to her feet, and it was clear to him that she was ashamed of herself. Ashamed of what Merle had spilled. Despite knowing what she did, his view on her didn't change. She was the same small innocent girl he saved in the woods.

She, however, didn't know that. In her mind, her job coming out had resulted in the loss of all respect she might have earned with Daryl. He pushed a hand over the back of his neck and shook his head. "Just help me get the damn bike in the back." Merle broke his concentration, and Daryl only nodded as they moved towards the end of the truck.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These dots,  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Are equal to a time skip.  
> Bit of a boring chapter! Mostly just a filler until things start to pick up. But there is a bit of Daryl and Juliet fluff for you~

Juliet's head was currently leaning on the window of Daryl's truck. He'd been sandwiched between her and Merle for the past few hours and it was suffice to say that he was a little annoyed. After tauntingly pressing his hand to her thigh, Juliet demanded she sit by the window instead and Daryl complied quietly. He understood his brother took a special kind of patience.

She had fallen asleep nearly an hour ago, and Daryl found himself looking over to her porcelain face more often than not. Her dark hair was tucked neatly behind her ears and her full lips were parted slightly. Her chest rose and fell slowly in time with her breathing, and occasionally her eyelashes would flutter as her eyes moved. She looked peaceful in a world filled with chaos, and Daryl could appreciate that.

He coughed a bit as Merle looked in his direction, but then he noticed the reason why. There was a man standing in the way of their truck, and they had come up on a group. Normally, Daryl and Merle were more careful about coming up on camp grounds. They'd raid what they needed in the middle of the night and be gone before morning. Nobody was ever the wiser. This time, however, was different. They came upon these people by mistake.

Merle stopped the truck, glancing at Daryl and the sleeping Juliet. The two had been able to tolerate each other much easier as time went on, but that didn't stop him from finding entertainment in pushing her buttons. "Well, wake up sleeping beauty."

Daryl narrowed his eyes before watching as Merle slipped out of his seat, and carefully Daryl scooted over and went out that door as well. He didn't want to rob Juliet of the only peaceful sleep she'd probably be getting for awhile. He closed the door and walked closer to the group of people that had moved to surround their vehicle.

Juliet's eyes fluttered open at the absense of warmth on her side, the door closing keeping her awake as she sat up rather quickly. Her heart instantly shifting into panic mode as the two boys she'd grown accustomed to seeing were talking with a group of strangers. As she sat up and rubbed at her eyes, she noticed the man they were talking to point in her direction.

Daryl squinted slightly, glancing over to see she had in fact woken up. He held up a finger to the man and strutted back to the truck carefully before pulling open the door to her side of the vehicle. "Mornin' Bambi." He grunted, squinting to keep the sun out of his eyes.

She stretched slightly, pushing stray hairs out of her face before offering a small wave. "Morning." She mumbled, leaning forward and looking to the group of strangers. "What's going on?"

He shrugged a bit, leaning into the door as she leaned forward. "Guess we found a temporary place. They wanted to make sure you were with us instead of.." He trailed off, letting her mind gather together that the man had accused them of keeping Juliet around as a pleasure toy. She crinkled her nose up and Daryl snorted in reply.

Eventually, she slid down from the seat and once her feet landed on the dirt she lifted her arms and arched her back in a stretch. A small noise passed her lips as she listened to the cracking that sounded from her back and Daryl made a face. "Shut up." She mumbled poutily before walking towards Merle.

Once again, he allowed his eyes to watch as she walked away. The long wave of brown hair stayed in loose ringlets cascading down her back. Shaking his head, he shut the door and followed after her. Juliet held her hand out to the man and shook it carefully. "Hey, I'm Juliet."

Her voice was smooth like velvet and the stranger offered a small grin. "Shane. Welcome to the group." He offered, looking from the beauty before him to Daryl and Merle. It was clear he was a bit confused as to how a girl like this had ended up with two men such as Daryl and Merle, but she was there willingly and that was all that he cared about.

As they walked back to the truck, Juliet's eyebrows furrowed. Daryl looked at her curiously, though made no move to ask what was wrong. "We only have two tents.." She mumbled, and as Merle walked up behind her he moved his hand to the small of her back.

"We could always share, sugartits." He cooed, his fingers gripping the ends of her shirt and he let off a laugh as she shrank away. He ignored the glare that Daryl was giving off, and waved a hand dismissively.

"Gross." Juliet mumbled, swatting his hand away before stepping past him and grabbing at her backpack. "What do you want to do?" She leaned on the bed of the truck, her eyes flicking to rest on Daryl's face.

Nobody ever really asked what Daryl wanted to do, Merle always made the calls and he just followed along, so when Juliet pointed this question at him he was stuck. He could share a tent with his brother, though he wasn't sure he wanted to go with that option. Merle had a way of getting on people's nerves. And he'd be damned if he let Merle and Juliet share a tent. She could share the tent with himself, however he wouldn't want to suggest that out loud. Before he'd even sort out his answer, he found himself speaking. "I'll sleep in the truck."

Juliet's expression wavered only slightly as she raised an eyebrow. "That won't be very comfortable.." She mumbled, listening to the grunt that Daryl gave off. Of course, she knew he had slept on worse. "Just share my tent with me."

Daryl stared down at her briefly, his jaw clenching at her words. "I'll be okay." He mumbled, shrugging his shoulder and pushing his bag into the front seat. He watched her gaze fall to that of an unimpressed stare. He sighed, narrowing his eyes at her before looking to the rest of the group. "Shut up." He mumbled, immitating her remark from earlier before walking off towards his brother.

She let off a laugh, her eyes following after him as he walked away. She felt herself smiling before she could realize why, and she shook her head a little before gathering up the tent in her hands and walking to a clearing not too far from the truck.

"Need a hand?" An unfamiliar voice caught her attention, and she looked up to see Shane approaching her with a friendly grin. Juliet had become so used to the grumpyness of the Dixon brother's that she'd nearly forgotten what a smile looked like, so she nodded her head and allowed him to instruct her on how to put up the tent.

Merle had been mumbling about going out to hunt as he put up his tent, and Daryl was standing there with his eyes squinted from the sun. He kept Juliet in the corner of his gaze, always, just in case. As Shane approached and began helping her, he felt annoyance rising in his blood. If she needed help she could have just asked him.

Shaking the feeling off, he decided it was just his protectiveness of the girl causing him to react that way. They were surrounded by strangers after all, and he'd been looking after her for so long it had to be coming naturally to him now.

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The sun had only been in the sky for maybe an hour when Juliet climbed out of her tent and sat her small frame around the empty fire pit. Her large blue eyes rested tiredly on the pile of burnt wood and ash, only to have her attention diverted by the sound of footsteps. Her eyes flicked over to the truck, and Daryl was walking over with an unreadable expression. "Morning."

He looked her over, her skin pale in the dim light and her hair pulled back in a messy pony tail. She looked tired. He gave off a grunt in response, offering a small nod before sitting down across from her. "What are you doin' up?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, eyes falling to stare into the fireless pit that seperated them. "I couldn't fall back asleep." She admitted, offering a small shrug before her tired eyes moved to rest on his face. She watched as he pushed his fingers through his hair lazily, his eyes staying on his crossbow. "You're leavin' already?"

"Mn." His response was gutteral as he looked up at her, his thumb pressed to his lips as he chewed on his nail. It was a habit he did when he was unsure or anxious, Juliet had noticed it when they first met and in the months that they had been around one another it happened often. "I'll bring you back a rabbit."

Her eyebrows furrowed before she allowed a small grin to pass her lips. "Ha. Ha." When Juliet was still transitioning to her new life with the Dixon brother's, she'd gone on a hunting trip with Daryl. The two walked in silence for hours with only a few squirrels as a prize when she excitedly grabbed at his forearm, forcing him to pause. She had been so excited to see the fluffy little rabbit, and when she pointed it out to Daryl he'd shot an arrow directly through its skull without warning. It would suffice to say she was a little upset, and ever since then it had become a small joke between the two. "Be safe."

He gave off a small smirk, shaking his head before getting up and pushing his crossbow over his back. "I'll be back before dark." He mumbled, nodding his head in her direction before walking off towards the forest.

It wasn't long before Juliet was greeted with the company of her fellow camp members. One by one, sleepy man and woman left their tents and began their chores for the day. Glenn had seated himself next to her on the stump and offered a small smile. "Morning, Juliet."

"Hey." She yawned, covering her mouth with her hands before letting off an apologetic laugh. "I'm sorry, been up awhile." She mumbled, dragging her hands down her face slowly before resting her arms on her knees.

He only shrugged, pushing his hair back before looking over as Lori began helping Carl get ready for the day. "We're going on a run, if you wanted to come or if you needed anything." He offered, wiping his hands off on his jeans as he stood up slowly.

With a small smile, she shook her head a little and shrugged before looking towards her tent. She would need to do laundry today, as her clothes were beginning to run low. "I'll be fine here. Thank you."

He smiled softly before nodding a bit and heading off to gather his things. Merle crawled out of his tent later than the rest of the camp, but that wasn't much of a surprise. As he let off a yawn and wandered his way over, his hand moved over Juliet's hair and ruffled it up. She let off a noise in response, swatting at his hand before moving over a bit so he could sit down. "Where's Darylina?"

"Daryl." She corrected, watching the smirk rise on his lips. "Went out hunting a few hours ago." He nodded a bit and let off another noisy yawn before looking over at Juliet. His eyes scanned her face, dropping down to view along her neck and pausing over her collarbones. She really was a sight for sore eyes, he was impressed they had managed to keep her around them for so long.

He nodded a bit as he looked away, his eyes scanning around the rest of the camp before he turned his attention towards tying his boots up. "Goin' on that run." He mentioned passively, his hands moving to rest on his knees as he noticed everyone beginning to pack their gear onto the van.

Juliet eyed him slowly before looking to the rest of the camp. "Behave." She warned, pushing a few dark tendrals of hair behind her ear and standing up. "And please try not to get eaten."

He gave a crooked grin, watching as she stood up before allowing his eyes to trail along her figure. "What? Would you miss me if I did?"

Her icey eyes rolled in annoyance before she shook her head. "It's a possibility you've grown on me." She teased, watching that annoying smirk never leave his lips as she crossed her arms over her thin torso. He let off a hum in response, letting his eyes fall down to her hips in a more obvious manner. She snorted, shaking her head and shoving at his shoulder. "Not that much, Merle."

He laughed, grabbing his pack and slinging it over his shoulder before nodding in her direction. "I'll try not to get eaten." He reassured, walking off to the group and climbing into the truck.

 

Juliet nodded a bit at his words, her eyes following after him and watching as everyone climbed into the van and went on their way to Atlanta. She wasn't sure why they would be going there, the place was more than over run with the rotting corpses that had seemingly taken over the rest of the world. Whatever the reason, she hoped each and every one of them returned safely. She'd grown attached to Merle, despite his sexist and racist tendencies, and she knew Daryl would be upset if something were to ever happen to him and that was the last thing Juliet wanted.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloo! SO beyond sorry for the delay in an update. Work is hell and it doesn't leave me with a lot of free time. But I promise to be a little more consistent, and you can expect at LEAST one update a week from me from this point forward. It's a crappy chapter, but it leads to some interesting fluff between Daryl and Juliet in the next chapter~

Juliet's eyes stayed stoic as she sat on top of the motor home. Her large blue eyes peered over the edge and down at Dale and Jim as they toyed with the engine of the RV. Shane was manning the CB radio, listening for any more updates from the group. It had been hours since they last checked in, and their update hadn't been a pleasant one. Something had gone wrong, and they were trapped in a small building that was surrounded with walkers. "Still nothing?" Her voice ceased the silence and her blue eyes shifted to rest on Shane.

He looked around at the others working below them before shaking his head a little, allowing one shoulder to rise and fall in a shrug. "Nothin'." He admitted quietly, and he watched Juliet's expression fall. "That's probably because they got out, though. The area they were in had the CB, so they probably managed to escape by the skin of their teeth."

Her eyes lit up, though she could tell he truly had no idea if what he was saying was true or not. He was trying to lift her spirits, and she appreciated that. "Thank you." She chimed quietly, offering a small smile before looking down at Dale. "How's it looking?" She called, tilting her head and leaning over the edge further.

"You better be careful." Dale's eyes watched as she dangled off the edge of the RV, the father side of him taking over more at the thought of her falling. "It takes one wrong move to tumble off that thing."

She gave off a small grin that allowed her dimples to crease in her cheeks, and she nodded a bit before scooting back a little bit more. "Sorry, Dale." She replied, her full lips still curled into a smile. Juliet had never had a caring father; her dad had always favored her twin brother Jonah, and when he passed away in the accident he shut down all together. Juliet reminded him too much of the son he'd lost, so he shut her out completely and hid away in his study more often than not. It was needless to say that she was glad Dale looked out for her like that, she never had that growing up and it was nice to finally feel that type of affection again.

He nodded a bit, surprised at how she obeyed instead of giving him attitude for trying to help her. Andrea had always scolded him when he did little things like that, but it seemed Juliet appreciated it a lot more. "It's the damn hose again." He answered her question, shaking his head as he watched Jim work.

She pushed dark tendrals of hair out of her face before nodding slowly. Eventually, she grabbed at her bag glanced over the edge to Dale. "Want more duct tape?"

"If you have any, I'd appreciate it." He squinted in the hot sun, expecting her to just drop it over the edge, but to his surprise she had disappeared from the ledge and crawled down the ladder to hand it to him directly. "Thank you."

Her thin shoulders rose in a shrug, and she handed over the tape without quarrel. "No worries. What's mine is yours." She hummed happily, peeking over his shoulder to watch Jim work with the engine. Cars had never been her specialty, so it didn't need to be said that she had no idea what went on inside a motor home's engine, but she was glad there were two people who did.

"Does anybody else hear that?" Shane's voice broke through the conversation, and when Juliet tuned into her surroundings she heard it too. There was a blaring alarm sounding in the distance, and the longer you listened the closer it got. "Sounds like a stolen car."

Juliet's eyebrows furrowed as she moved to climb up the ladder again, her fingers carefully pulling the binoculars out of Shane's grasp before she looked through them, glancing around their surroundings in order to spot the vehicle. "It's over there." She pointed carefully, handing them back over to Shane. "Whoever that is, they're an idiot. They might as well be sounding a dinner bell for every walker for miles."

Shane nodded his head in agreement, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he noticed they would be coming straight towards the camp. Juliet squinted her eyes as the car became more visable, driving recklessly around the bends and curves of the road. At this point, everyone had surrounded the entrance of the camp and were waiting for the mysterious car to make an appearance.

When it finally did, it was Glen who stepped out. His eyes were lit with excitment as he pointed to the noisy car, the grin never leaving his lips. "I don't know how to shut it off!" He exclaimed proudly, though he earned dirty looks from Shane and Dale.

The car came to a stop at the entrance, and it was Glen who had been driving. His eyes were lit up in excitement and the grin never left his lips. It was clear to everyone he hadn't had that good of a time in a long while. Juliet found herself smiling for him as he looked at the car proudly, and she shook her head. She really didn't understand some people's obsession with cars.

"Shut it off!" Dale demanded loudly, only to groan as Glen admitted that he had no clue how to do that. Once the hood was brought up, the rest seemed to come easily. Shane and Dale had shut the alarm off within seconds and they both began reprimanding Glen for the stupidity of his actions.

"C'mon guys, lighten up." Juliet finally spoke up, standing on her tiptoes so she could wrap her arm around Glen's shoulders. "How often do you get the opportunity to drive a car that nice?"

Glen gave her an appreciative smile, nodding his head in thanks before glancing to the other's. They laid off, like they were asked, and finally the questions were being thrown. "Andrea's fine." He spoke confidently, looking to Amy before nodding to everyone. "Everyone is fine." He started, though the crinkle that rose on his nose showed he second guessed his words. "Well, Merle..not so much."

Juliet's eyes darkened, and she pulled her arm away to look at him with a darker gaze. "What do you mean 'Merle not so much?'" She questioned, pulling away from him a little more before looking to see the van pull up slowly. "Is he..I mean, did he.."

"He's alive." Glen interrupted her abruptly, moving his hand to grab onto hers. His thumb moved over her hand comfortingly before nodding his head. Juliet appreciated the movement, and she nodded her head slowly. "He's alive, he's fine, just..not here."

"Where is he, then?" Her eyebrows furrowed together as she watched the reunion of other's and their family members. A pit was forming deep within her stomach, her eyes looking up to Glen and the normally kind blue irises showed a more fearful gaze. While she and Merle had their differences, he'd become part of her family and she wouldn't be happy with losing him.

"It's kind of a long story.." Glen started quietly, but he was interrupted by the shrill scream of Carl. Juliet dropped Glen's hand and turned quickly, but the protective panic mode she'd thrown herself into was paused when she realized he had been screaming 'Dad'.

A lump in her throat formed slowly as she watched the reunion, shock was evident on the stranger's face and her hands moved to cover her mouth as she watched Lori's tears fall freely. Everyone stared at them in awe, even Shane seemed ready to cry at the bittersweet reunion. "Oh my God." Her voice was muffled by her hand, and she shook her head slowly before looking to Glen in amazement. A new hope began to rise in her heart; if something this impossible could happen in a world that had fallen apart so quickly, there had to be hope for something better in their future. Something worth going through..this. If fate did exist, she believed in it for that moment.  
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The fire was dimly lit, but Juliet had warmth with Glen by her side. He'd stayed close to her since the news of Merle, it was obvious something struck in her and she was torn about the loss, so she appreciated him keeping an eye on her. She had only been here a few days and already everyone treated her like family, she could feel herself quickly growing attached to each and every one of them.

Her eyes stayed affectionately on Carl and his father, his fingers toyed happily with his hair while his free hand was wrapped tightly around his wife's waist. "Disoriented, I guess that comes closest. Fear, confusion, all those things..but Disoriented comes closest." His voice trailed off quietly as he began to explain his journey, and Lori hadn't taken her eyes off of him since they had been reunited.

"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short." Dale's words were always the wisest to Juliet, she felt the desire to listen and hold onto everything he said. He put such care into how he spoke to people, and she had always admired that.

Rick nodded in agreement, looking back towards the fire. "I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For awhile, I thought I was stuck in some coma dream..you know, something I might not wake up from."

Carl's voice was small, but it was enough to put a hault in the conversation and tug on Juliet's heart strings. "Mom said you died."

Lori's eyes shot down to Carl and a guilty look overtook her expression. Faintly, her eyes shot to Shane before she looked to her husband, who only smiled with the patience only a loving father could have. "She had every reason to believe that..don't you ever doubt it."

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta..and it never happened." Her voice was shakey as she tried to defend herself, but he only nodded and kissed her head.

"Well I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." He admitted, watching as she nodded her head in agreement. "And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun. I barely got them out, you know? I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't even begin to express it.."

Shane's smile was small, and he nodded his head as words failed him. "There go those words falling short again. Paltry things." Dale admitted, most people nodded happily and Juliet's eyes fell downwards onto the fire.

The moment of peace ended not long after that, and Dale gave off a sad look in Juliet's direction. People shifted uneasily as silence overtook the area. "Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

Juliet's eyes flicked upwards, and her eyebrows furrowed. "Left behind? You left him there?" Her voice rose in anger as she shot a sharp glare in Glen's direction.

His hands went up defensively and he shook his head. Before he'd gotten the chance to explain himself, Rick intervened. "Who are you?" Juliet's eyes narrowed in Glen's direction before softening her gaze to Rick.  
"Juliet. Merle is a friend. What happened to him." Her voice was quiet as she shifted uncomfortably on the ground, the sickness that rose in her stomach caused her to pull her knees closer to her chest. Not only was she upset about his absense, but her thoughts went to Daryl. Merle was the only family Daryl had left, and if he were to find out that his brother was just..abandoned in an over run city. He would be furious.

"Merle was a danger to everyone and himself." Rick started off quietly, but this wasn't news to Juliet. Everyone with common sense knew Merle wasn't the smartest of men, he didn't work well with others. "He pulled a gun on Andrea, so I handcuffed him to a pipe on a roof top in Atlanta."

Her expression fell and her eyebrows furrowed together. "So, just..just let me think about this a minute." She said quietly, looking towards her feet before resting her eyes on the man. "You handcuffed him, and that's all fine and dandy..but you. You left him up there to get eaten by corpses?" Her tone was deadly calm, and her eyes held a certain anger in them. This would be the calm before the storm, dealing with her would be nothing compared to dealing with Daryl.

"Wasn't left up there to get eaten." Rick argued quietly, shaking his head. "Our intentions weren't to leave him up there, you have to understand that. We handcuffed him there so we could do what we had to do, but when we got back into the building..the walkers, there was too many of them. I gave T-Dogg the key, told him to go handle it..but the key got dropped down a drain. We didn't want to leave him."

She let out a small groan, dragging her hands over her face slowly. "Your intentions in the situation don't matter much now, do they? Regardless of your intentions, he got left up there on the roof of a building filled with walkers without anything to protect himself. You left him up there to die, whether you intended to or not."

It was clear that Rick didn't understand her frustration, while he understood that leaving him there was wrong he couldn't quite grasp why she seemed to care so much. Merle was a sexist, racist pig who didn't care about anyone but himself, what did she care if he would make it back? "Daryl's going to be so pissed at you guys." Juliet's voice broke the short silence abruptly. She stood up, brushing the dirt off the seat of her pants before shaking her head. "

"Juliet.." T-Dogg started quietly, his eyes resting on her face. "I padlocked the door. Staircase is narrow, only bout a dozen walkers can squeeze into it at once, if that. Not enough to break that lock and get to him. He's alive, and they can't touch him. That's gotta count for something."

Her eyes fell on him in a stoic glance, her face lacking any real emotion for the situation. "Daryl's not gonna see it that way, and you know it. It's not me you have to explain yourself to. It's him. How do you plan on telling him you left his brother behind in Atlanta? Handcuffed to a roof."

"I'll be the one to tell him. I'm the one who handcuffed him up there, it's my fault. I should be the one to tell him." Rick reasoned quietly, though Lori and Shane stared at him in disbelief. Juliet tilted her head, unsure of how well that would go. She knew very well Daryl wouldn't take well to hearing about what had happened, let alone from a stranger who was the cause of it.

"No, Rick. I dropped the key. I'll tell him." T-Dogg offered after a long moment of silence, his eyes moving to rest on Juliet in an apologetic stare. She didn't look back at him, she only glanced towards the ground before looking to Glen.

"Guys, this isn't a competition. Now..I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glen's reasoning earned a small glare from Juliet, though it was clear he hadn't meant to offend anyone by his statement.

Her large blue eyes rolled slightly, and she shook her head. "Daryl isn't a racist, Glen. He and Merle ain't that much alike. Daryl's better, you have to at least admit that." She couldn't help but feel angry that anyone would accuse Daryl of being anything like Merle. Sure, the two were brothers and each were stubborn with a hot head, but Merle was a lot worse. Daryl was a better person than Merle, whether they saw it or not.

"We could lie." Andrea offered, though she closed her mouth and stepped backwards at the sudden glare she received from Juliet. Juliet wouldn't dream of lying to Daryl. He'd saved her life on more than one occasion, and she would bend over backwards to prove her gratitude. The second one of them even tried to lie to Daryl, she would be right behind him to knock their story into the ground.

"We're telling the truth. And we're going to have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." Dale added quietly, his eyes scanning over the members of the group before landing them on Juliet. "Maybe you should tell him." All eyes fell onto Juliet's frame, and despite the shocked look her expression gave off, he put his hands up defensively. "No, hear me out. She's been with him the longest, the only person he seems to have a tolerance for is her. It might sound better coming from someone who he cares about, instead of a guy he's never met."

Juliet's arms wrapped around her thin frame, and she shrugged. Dale's reasoning made sense to her, of course, but if she were to be the one to tell Daryl it would mean him getting very angry, possibly at her. While she knew Daryl wouldn't harm her, she also knew Daryl wasn't someone you wanted angry with you.

"She wasn't there, she had nothing to do with this. It's not fair for her to take the blunt end of something that isn't her fault." Rick defended her immediately, and Juliet's eyebrows furrowed. Here he was, defending her even after she'd scolded him for his decisions.

"He won't be back until tomorrow anyways." Juliet finally intervened, her small shoulders shrugging. "We'll handle it when he gets back." Her fingers moved to brush back her hair before she shook her head and walked away. Once she'd disappeared inside her tent, her eyes fell closed and she made an attempt at sleeping. Tomorrow wouldn't be a good day, she only hoped Daryl wouldn't do anything stupid.


	5. Chapter 5

Juliet sat quietly in her tent while other's moved about their day outside, her fingers graced over the edges of a faded photograph carefully in the silence of her small space. She sat there quietly, wondering what her life would have been like had Jonah not died in that car accident.

She swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat, her eyes dared to gloss over slowly but she only folded the picture up and pushed it into the back pocket of her shorts. There wasn't much time to think about what should have happened in her life, there was only time to focus on the right now.

She let out a small breath before getting up and fixing at her shirt, her eyes fell forward and she slipped out of her tent only to see Glen stumbling backwards. "Whatcha doing?" She questioned, her eyebrow raised as she looked him over.

He let out a startled noise, falling backwards onto his rear end. Instantly, he realized how that must have looked and he began stammering to explain his actions. "I was going to check on you." He mumbled, finally moving to stand up and brush the dirt off of his legs.

As Juliet parted her lips to respond, she was interrupted by Carl's shrill scream; he was crying out for his mother. Juliet shoved past Glen, running after Lori and Rick in the direction of Carl's scream. She arrived just after Shane, the small crowd that had gathered surrounded a rotting corpse eating the flesh off a dying deer. Inside the deer, was one of Daryl's arrows.

Lori fussed over Carl, checking him for scratches and bites while Shane attempted to explain the corpse being this far up the mountain. All conversation ceased, however, when the sound of Daryl cursing rang through.

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it..all gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing motherless poxy bastard!" His voice was harsh as he began slamming his foot into the decaying bodies side, kicking it without mercy.

Dale moved forward, looking over the scene with a fairly disgruntled expression. "Calm down, son. That's not helping."

Despite everyone being disturbed over Daryl's actions, Juliet was the one who showed it the least. She only reacted when Daryl stepped towards Dale. "What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'on golden pond'? I've been trackin' this deer for miles. Was gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison." He stepped towards the deer, poking at the corpse carefully. "What do you think? Think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"

Shane surveyed the animal, shaking his head slowly. "I would not risk that." He advised, poking the creature with his foot.

Daryl shook his head, pushing hair back from his face. "That's a damn shame." He admitted, defeated. "I got some squirrel, though. About a dozen or so. That'll have to do." His eyes fell forward towards the walker, and Lori yanked Carl backwards when it started to move. He grunted, shaking his head. "Come on, people. What the hell? It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" He huffed, shooting the decaying body in the skull with his crossbow before carefully yanking the arrow out afterwards. As he walked towards camp, his eyes searched for his brother. "Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."

Juliet shot a narrowed look in Shane's direction before going after him. Once she caught up, her hand found his forearm and she pulled lightly. "Hey, slow up." Her voice was quiet, and she let go when he went to move his arm. He raised his eyebrow in question, and she offered a sad look. "Can we talk?"

"Daryl, we gotta talk to you about something." Noticing his skepticism, Shane intervened. He waved Daryl over carefully, and let out a relaxed sigh when he complied and wandered over.

Juliet wrapped her arms around her torso and she looked at her feet, and she felt Daryl's eyes on her. When she glanced up, she could see the vague concern pass over his eyes before going stoic as he glanced towards Shane. "About what?"

"About Merle." Shane started, and this caught Daryl's attention. Daryl's eyebrows furrowed together, and he stiffened beside Juliet. "There was a uh, there was a problem in Atlanta."

"He dead?" Daryl questioned, his eyes glossing over immediately at the thought. Juliet watched him carefully, fighting the urge to grab onto his hand. She hadn't seen that expression since they found Malcolm in the alleyway.

Shane hesitated in answering, his mind racing in order to find the right words to say this. Despite his distaste for Merle Dixon, he understood that he was still Daryl's family and this had to be handled with care. "We're not sure.."

"Either he is or he ain't!" Daryl huffed, the nervousness of losing his brother instantly fueling into anger as he began to pace a little, his eyes flicking over to Juliet.

Her eyes locked with his for a moment, and she saw the pain in his eyes. The eye contact was broken by the voice that spoke up next, it was unfamiliar to Daryl, but Juliet recognized it as Rick. "No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it."

Daryl gave off a confused expression, flinging a hand in the man's direction. "Who are you?"

Rick bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes warily shifting towards Juliet as he noticed Daryl take a few steps towards her as he paced. "Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes." Daryl hissed, his eyes shifting between every member of the group as they all paused what they were doing to watch the scene unfold. He finally stopped his movements and rested his gaze back on Rick. "You got something you wanna tell me?"

Rick let off a sigh, glancing between Daryl and Shane before coming clean. "Your brother was a danger to us all. So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still up there."

Daryl's expression quickly dropped into that of a furious man. "Hold on." He spat, backing up a bit before shooting a nasty look in Rick's direction. "Let me process this." He mumbled, spinning his finger in a small circle near his temple. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?"

When Rick agreed, Daryl flung the bundle of squirrels in his direction. Though it didn't do much to Rick, only slow everything down. Daryl lunged forward, but he was quickly tackled to the ground by Shane. Within seconds, his fingers wrapped around the handle of a knife.

"Daryl, don't!" Juliet's voice struck through the silence, and for a fraction of a second his eyes shot over to her. Her plea did little to change his mind, and within seconds he was lunging forward in order to gut Rick.

Rick skillfully pulled back, causing Daryl to miss cutting into him by mere inches. Rick and Shane latched onto his arms, forcing him down to the ground despite the furious struggle he put on. "You best let me go!" He growled, struggling against Shane's grip. "Choke hold's illegal!"

"You can file a complaint." Shane huffed, tightening his grip around Daryl.

Juliet moved to their side quickly, and her eyes shot a nasty glare in Shane's direction. Dropping to her knees, she looked over Daryl with frantic eyes before slapping her hand against Shane's arm. "Let him go." She mumbled, her large eyes narrowing into a glare.

Shane looked at her, glancing towards Rick briefly before resting his gaze on Daryl. "There needs to be a calm discussion about this, can you manage that?" Rick spoke up, his eyes falling onto Juliet.

"I'm not going to ask you again, Shane. Let him go, or you'll regret it." Her voice was hostile as her blue eyes gave off a deadly stare. Shane's stance wavered before he finally dropped his hold on Daryl. "Animals. All of you." She shook her head, eyes rolling slightly before she allowed her eyes to rest on Daryl.

Daryl stayed seated on the ground, his eyes resting on Juliet as he attempted to read her expression. She had become even better at hiding her emotions than when they met, he hadn't had this hard of a time reading her since he brought her to get the rest of her things. Eventually, he decided he wouldn't be able to read her, and he decided he still had to handle the situation with his brother. "Shut up." He mumbled in her direction, getting up and brushing himself off before listening to the snort she emitted in response. "C'mon." He mumbled, motioning for her to stand.

Her hand wrapped around his arm and she used him as leverage to pull herself up off the ground. Eventually, Rick began to explain himself. "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."

T-Dogg eventually intervened, and he walked over with his eyes not leaving Daryl. "It's not Rick's fault. I had the key and I dropped it. He got stuck because of me."

Daryl's eyes fell on him, a dumbfounded expression crossing over his face. "Couldn't pick it up?" He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest tightly.

T-Dogg gave off a defeated expression, his gaze towards Daryl was not a proud one. "I dropped it down a drain." Daryl let off a groan, rubbing his hands over his face slowly. "Look, I chained the door to the roof - so the geeks couldn't get at him - with a padlock. It's gotta count for something."

Daryl looked between him and the crowd that surrounded him, his eyes resting on each and every face, though he skipped over Juliet. He moved his view to the ground, wiping his hand over his eyebrows to get rid of the sweat that had been collecting. "Hell with all y'all!" He hissed, motioning towards the group before sighing. "Just tell me where he is so's I can go get him."

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori interjected, her eyes falling flatly onto the face of her husband. Rick looked to her with an apologetic stare before he nodded his head a bit in agreement.

Shane watched Lori carefully, upon seeing her reaction to Rick agreeing to take Daryl to Atlanta, he looked dumbfounded. "So that's it, huh? You're just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everybody else?"

  
Rick let off an aggravated sigh, shaking his head. "I'm not saying to hell with anybody Not you Shane; Lori least of all." His tone was defensive as he looked between his best friend and wife.

  
"Could you just..could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?" Shane argued, his tone sharp.

"Hey! Choose your words more carefully!" Daryl intervened, as he stepped forward to go after Shane he felt an arm move across his torso. His narrowed eyes relaxed when he realized it was only Juliet, and he ceased his movements in attempt to abide by what she wished.

Shane rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant." He argued, moving his attention towards Rick. "Merle Dixon. The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dyin' of thirst."

Rick let off a small sigh, shaking his head. "What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst; me. Thirst and exposure. We left him up there like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

Juliet nodded her head in silent agreement, and eventually she dropped her arm and wrapped her arms around her torso. Daryl stayed by her side, his eyes flicking between Rick and Shane as things began to get sorted out.

Lori finally spoke up once more, her tone strained as she held onto Carl's shoulders tightly. "So you and Daryl? That's your big plan?"

Rick looked at her silently, but his gaze shifted awkwardly onto Glen. When others followed his stare, Glen let out a small noise. "Oh, come on!"

Rick walked closer, looking to him with pleading eyes. "You know the way. You've been there before, in and out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along." His voice was quiet, and he gradually moved his gaze to Lori. "I know she would too."

When Glen agreed, Shane let out an exasperated sigh. "That's just great, now you're gonna risk three men, huh?"

T-Dogg raised his hand, giving a guilty stare in Shane's direction. "Four."

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl mumbled, earning a small swat to his shoulder from Juliet. He shot a small glare in her direction, though each of them knew it was harmless.

"You see anyone else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" He defended, glaring in Daryl's direction before crossing his arms over his chest. Juliet offered a grateful gaze in his direction before resting her eyes on Shane.  
Shane let off a small groan, moving his hand to rub along the back of his neck. "It's not just four people. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."

Rick's eyes lit up as a certain thought surfaced. "It seems to me, what you really need most here, are more guns. Six shotguns, Two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up. It's got 700 rounds, assorted."

Shane's eyes showed the inner struggle he was having with this, his body tensing up. Rick had a point, but he didn't like the idea of Rick not making it back. "You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?"

"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl intervened, moving towards his father. Rick wrapped his arms around his son carefully, glancing to Lori.

"To hell with the guns, Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not one of your lives, even with the guns thrown in. Make me understand why you have to do this?"

Rick swallowed hard, moving his hand off Carl's back. "I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him. There's a walkie talkie in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."

"So use the C.B." A voice they hadn't heard from interjected, and everyone's eyes landed on Andrea for a moment. The solemn look Rick gave off made her think otherwise, though. "What's wrong with the C.B.."

"These our walkies?" Shane asked, his eyes moving towards Rick. When he nodded in agreement, he looked to Andrea. "C.B's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap. They date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth, not even the scanners in our cars."

Rick nodded his head, his eyes shifting between Shane and Lori. "I need that bag. Okay?"

Juliet let out a relieved sigh when the three of them came to an agreement, they would let the four of them help Daryl get his brother back. She shifted slightly, turning to look at Daryl in the silence. His eyes still held anger, but they softened briefly when he glanced at her.

The thought of him not returning back to camp briefly crossed her mind, and a sickening pit formed in her stomach. She had grown attached to having the man by her side, and whenever he was gone she couldn't help but notice the absence that she felt deep in her core.

He'd saved her life on numerous occasions; he was always there to help her and pull her out of bad situations before they turned worse, and she never understood why. He didn't have to save her, or help her every time she screwed up, but he did and she was grateful. She needed him around, and didn't like the idea of having to survive without him by her side to do it.

Needless to say, she was terrified of this trip to Atlanta. One of their people already didn't make it back, and she didn't like the idea that something similar could happen to Daryl. She watched as he made his way towards the truck, and silently she followed after him. When he climbed into it and began packing his belongings into his bag.

Juliet climbed into the passenger seat, her eyes watching his hands as they moved. Eventually, he paused what he was doing and allowed his eyes to rest on her small frame. His blue eyes found hers and he let out a slightly impatient sigh. "Wha'?"

"So you'll be leaving for Atlanta soon, then?" Her voice was quiet as she began picking at the ends of the car seats, her blue eyes resting on his face. An uncertain nod was given in response, and she folded her hands and placed them in her lap. "I think I should come with you, to Atlanta."

Daryl snorted, snapping his bag closed. To her surprise, he didn't immediately deny the idea, instead he gazed in her direction with furrowed eyebrows. He paused what he'd been doing, sitting back against the seat. "Why's that?"

Juliet never thought she'd get this far into the conversation, she hadn't prepared a little speech to make her case. She couldn't tell him she was terrified he wouldn't make it back, he'd think she was weak. "I don't like the idea of you going there and.." Her voice trailed off, her eyes falling down to gaze at her fingers instead.

Daryl stayed quiet, whether he was waiting for her to finish or if he understood Juliet didn't know, but he didn't comment for a long while. Clearing his throat, he moved his hand and nudged at her elbow. "I'll make it back." His voice was gravel, but it still reassured her nonetheless. "And I'll Drag Merle's ugly ass back here, too."

She couldn't help the small smile that rose to her lips, and as she glanced over in Daryl's direction she caught him staring at her contently. She kept her smile, resting her head on the seat as she moved her eyes to reside in his direction. "You better."

He rolled his eyes, moving to chew at the skin around his thumb nail. He'd picked up the habit along their travels and Juliet noticed he did it quite often; whenever he would become anxious or nervous or unsure, he would chew on his nails. Carefully, she reached her hand out and playfully swatted at his hand, the small glare he gave her caused her full lips to curl upwards in a grin. "Be safe, Daryl." She said softly, pushing open the truck door and sliding out.

The noise that passed his lips was more of a grumble than an agreement, but she took it as one. Her eyes flicked over her shoulder, glancing to the truck as he stepped out, before watching everyone begin saying their goodbye's. Her arms wrapped firmly around her torso, and she kept her eyes on Daryl as he put his things in the van. Her entire frame was tense, but she had believed him when he assured her he'd make it back, and she trusted that she would see him again soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Juliet's fingers wrapped tighter around the handle of one of her throwing knives, her eyes flicking over her shoulder briefly before flinging the knife forward. A thud was sounded as the blade hit its mark, cutting into the little makeshift target Juliet had put together. Carl put his hands together in applause, and Juliet playfully rolled her eyes. "Thank you, thank you." She purred, taking a bow and giving Carl a dimpled grin.

Yanking the knife out of the board, her eyes landed on the small crowd that began forming around Dale. "What's that about?" She questioned, moving her arm around Carl's shoulders and leading him towards the gathering. Shane offered a small smile in their direction, and Juliet waved before ushering Carl off towards his mother. "Everything okay?"

"Something's up with Jim." Shane mumbled quietly, motioning upwards towards the hill. Juliet could only see the handle of the shovel, and his head drenched in sweat, but her eyebrows furrowed and she gave an uneasy look in Shane's direction. He moved his shoulders in a small shrug before turning and walking towards where Jim was digging.

The sun beat down on everyone, but no one more than Jim. He was dripping in sweat, his face flushed red and his eyes wary from the strain he was putting on his body. "Hey, Jim?" Shane offered slowly, his eyes drifting between the crowd and Jim. "Jim, why don't you hold up, all right? Just give me a second here, please."

Jim gave off an exhasperated sigh, shoving the nose of the shovel into the dirt as he looked up towards everyone. Sweat began dripping into his eyes, which he wiped away with the back of his hand. "What do you want?"

Shane shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand, squinting slightly before glancing around the crowd. "We're all just a little concerned, Dale said you've been out here for hours." His tone showed the concern, but Jim didn't look convinced. "Why are you digging? Are you heading to China, Jim?" He left off a nervous laugh, taking a step towards him.

Jim sighed, wiping his forehead with his hand once more before grabbing the handle of the shovel. "What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone." His tone was defensive, his eyes warily flicking over each and every face with concern.

"Yeah, except maybe yourself. It's a hundred degrees today, Jim." Shane reminded, moving to wipe off the sweat that had been collecting on his skin from just standing in the beaming sun. "You can't keep this up."

Jim shrugged, tugging the shovel out of the ground and placing the handle in his hands. "Sure I can, watch me." He offered, shoving the nose of the shovel under the Earth and prying it up.

Before Shane could speak, Lori had stepped forward after pushing Carl behind her. "Jim, they're not gonna say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my son, and Carol's daughter."

This made Jim pause, and his eyes sadly shifted onto the children's faces. His tense frame relaxed slightly at the sight, but he dragged his eyes away and allowed himself to meet the gaze of Dale, Lori and Shane. "They got nothing to be scared of. I mean, what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?"

Shane sighed, nodding his head. "We think that you need to take a break, okay? Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade? Some food maybe. I'll tell you what maybe in a little bit I'll come out here and help you myself." When his words didn't convince him, he let out a troubled sigh. This was going in a direction that wouldn't end well. "Jim, just tell me what it's about." Again, his plea went on deaf ears. Shane let off a defeated sigh before taking a few steps forward. "Why don't you just go ahead and give me that shovel?"

Jim paused at the sudden company, and his entire frame tensed. Juliet watched the anger in his eyes slowly rising, and his fingers clenched tighter around the handle of the shovel until his knuckles were white. "Or what?"

"Jim, there is no or what. I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from you." Shane reasoned, his hands were up in submission as he edged his way closer.

Jim hesitated in responding, but he took a step backwards for every step forward Shane took. "And if I don't, then what? Then you're gonna beat my face in like Ed Peletier, aren't you?" Briefly, his eyes fell onto Carol. "Y'all seen his face, huh? What's left of it. See, now that's what happens when someone crosses you."

Shane's expression dropped into a sheepish one, his eyes glancing towards everyone before resting on Jim. Before he could stand up for his actions, Amy spoke out. "That was different, Jim. You weren't there. Ed was out of control, he was hurting his wife."

Jim shoved an angry finger towards Carol. "That is their marriage. Not his. He is not judge and jury." His tone was accusing, his eyes narrowed as he glared in Shane's direction. The hurt was clear on Carol's face, that Jim would justify the domestic abuse that had been happening. "Who voted you king boss, huh?"

Shane closed the gap between them with ease, "Jim, I'm not here to argue with you, all right? - Just give me the shovel, okay?" His words were careful, but when Jim took up a defensive stance, Shane was ready. He jumped backwards, dodging the swing that Jim took at him with a shovel. Shane pried it out of his fingers and wrestled Jim into the ground, pinning him with his face in the dirt. "Jim, relax. Nobody's gonna hurt you, you hear me? Nobody's gonna hurt you."

Jim accepted his fate slowly as he tasted the dirt that his face was pressed into. His eyes fell across the different faces staring at him, and he shook his head as best he could. "That's the biggest lie there is," he cried. "I told that to my wife and my two boys. I said it a hundred times." He hesitated in speaking, his voice cracking as he was pulled up off the ground and helped into a standing position. "It didn't matter. They came out of nowhere. There were dozens of 'em. Just pulled 'em...right out of my hands.." His eyes had fallen onto the ground as he was pushed forward, but he briefly looked up and his eyes locked with Juliet. "You know, the only reason I got away was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family."

Juliet stiffened at his story, her hand moving quickly to cover her mouth as he was walked down the hill back to camp. As everyone descended after them, her eyes followed their movements slowly, but she didn't go along. Instead, she allowed her eyes to fall onto the many holes that had been dug throughout the day. Her eyes scanned the length, the depth, and her heart seized in her chest. Her throat had begun to swell and she felt as if she had been swallowing cotton. She knew those holes all too well, her brother had been buried in one that looked just like them.

She stepped backwards clumsily, her eyes shifting between the different graves when she heard a voice calling her name. Uneasily, she tore her gaze away from the graves and rested it on Shane. He held a concerned expression as he motioned for her to come along. "You alright?" He questioned, watching as she slowly made her way over to him.

She nodded briefly, glancing back towards the holes. "You could fit a person in those, you know." She mumbled quietly, feeling his hand fit into the small of her back as he nudged her foreward. His own expression dropped into that of a very disgruntled man, and he nodded his head slowly as he understood what she was implying.

Upon making it back to the center of camp, Juliet's eyes moved along the camp slowly. She had felt a sinking feeling deep within the pit of her stomach now that she'd concluded that they were graves, and her mind raced to figure out just why Jim thought they'd need them.

When dinner was offered, Juliet gave off grateful smiles to both Amy and Andrea before grabbing at the fork and cutting her portion of fish into little pieces. Her eyes rested around camp, and slowly they settled onto Dale's wrist as he began explaining his watch.

"I like, I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment, now and then, and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'" His voice was smooth as he read off the quote, his eyes moving around the camp slowly.

Despite Juliet's career choices, she was always a well read girl; it didn't take long for her to realize just who it was that he was quoting. "Isn't that William Faulkner?" She spoke up, breaking the silence that had accumulated after he paraphrased the quote.

Dale offered a sincere smile, nodding his head eagerly. "It is, excuse my bad paraphrasing."

With that, Juliet nodded and began pushing more food into her mouth. Her eyes shifted around the fire uneasily, nails tapping against the wood of the log she sat on. A hand pressed itself into her forearm and she jumped, her eyes shooting towards the limb before relaxing slightly. "Easy." Shane offered quietly, moving his thumb over her skin carefully. "Relax. You're fine."

His voice was low enough for Juliet to hear, and she nodded her head slowly. She was happy to have someone looking out for her, especially with Daryl being so far away. Doing her best to relax, she finished off her plate and pushed it away to where the rest of them resided. Standing up carefully, she brushed the dirt off her jeans and looked down to see Jim staring at her. She froze slightly, her uneasiness growing back as she pushed her hands into her back pockets.

The screaming that sounded in that moment sent chills up her spine, and the world seemed to move into slow motion. The screaming had been coming from Amy, and the screaming that followed came from a mix of different people. Panic rose in the small camp, and Juliet's fingers curled into tight fists as she began patting over her clothes. Fear began swelling in her chest, her heart beat sounded in her ears and she wanted to cry at her next realization; her knives were in the truck.

Carl's shrieks were the only ones Juliet could focus on, his scream echoed in her head and it set off a small alarm. Things kicked into a faster pace, and Juliet fell backwards at the sight of a decaying body tripping over rocks into the fire. The stench was nauseating, but Juliet's mind was racing far too quickly to worry about it.

She rose to her feet quickly, stumbling towards Daryl's truck and flinging open the door. She hadn't managed to make a clean get away, and multiple dead bodies shuffled their way towards her. Her fingers fumbled around her bag for her knives, though her fingers only managed to grab onto one before she'd realized that a few of them had been closing in around her. Clumsily, she pulled herself up backwards into the seat, her knife held out in front of her as she scooted away uneasily.

"Please, no." Her voice was breathless as the decaying body crawled its way onto the seat, the groaning that passed its rotting lips sent chills rushing over Juliet's damp skin, her eyes watered from the stench they emitted and she let out a small whimper when her back hit the passenger door. When the creature's hand grasped at her leg, she flicked her wrist and flung the knife, her eyes watched as the blade pierced into the skull.

The relief she felt when it stopped crawling up along her body was brief as another piled itself on top of its fallen friend. Immediately, she began to kick her legs, sending the heel of her shoes into shoulders and cheeks, but it was to no avail. The groaning got louder, and the grip the rotting being had on the edge of her shorts was strong enough to pull the corpse up along her legs. Moments before she had accepted her face, the passenger door was flung open and a hand looped around her waist. As she was pulled back against the chest of her savior, she struggled in their grasp. "No, no, no." She mumbled, her legs flinging frantically until another hand moved over her mouth.

"Relax!" A familiar voice hissed in her ears, and she flinched into the chest of her savior at the harshness of his tone. Her hand moved to wrap around his wrist, and she carefully leaned her head back to lock eyes with the man who had saved her. "Told you I'd be back."

Her blue eyes were wide, and her heart thumped unevenly in her chest. Her stomach turned with sickness, and the grip she had on his wrist tightened slightly as she rested her head back against his shoulder. Slowly, his hand moved away from her mouth but his arm stayed across her chest with his hand on her shoulder. "Daryl." She breathed, relaxing more when her feet hit the dirt.

"Bambi." He mumbled, his narrowed gaze looking at the dead in his truck before moving to rest on her face. Save for the flush in her cheeks, her skin was pale and she shook lightly in his grasp. He hadn't seen her that shaken up since the night they met, and he didn't ever want to have to see her that way again.

"I panicked..I just.." She stammered quietly, her thumb moving over the skin of his wrist absently as she tried to explain herself. He didn't speak, he only allowed her to work through the trauma herself. His grip on her waist loosened, but his hand never dropped. He held onto her until he was sure she felt safe enough to move away on her own. "Where's Merle?"

Daryl shook his head slowly, his eyes falling down onto her hand which was clinging to his wrist. "Long story.." He mumbled, carefully sliding his arm from around her shoulders. "You okay, nothin' bit you?"

Juliet noticed the change in topic, and her heart sank briefly. "Oh.." She whispered, turning slightly once his hand no longer pinned her back to his chest. Her heart raced slightly as his hand moved to rest on her hip, and she nodded slowly at his question. "No, no I'm fine. Nothing bit me." She watched as relief overtook his expression, and he nodded his head slowly.

His hand dropped from her waist and moved to hold onto her arm; he pulled the limb out carefully and examined it, doing the same with the other before glancing down towards her legs. Once he had confirmed with his own eyes that she was actually okay, he dropped his hand and glanced around at the devistation before them. "Merle's gone." He mumbled, looking over to her. "He's alive, for now, but he's just..gone."

Juliet frowned slightly, nodding her head. She was relieved that he was alright, but it pained her to see Daryl having to part with his brother. "Guess it's just us against the world." When he grunted in reply, she bit the inside of her cheek. Carefully, her hand moved forward and her fingers laced through his, pulling his hand into hers. "He'll be around, soon." She offered quietly, "I feel it."

Daryl snorted in response, nodding his head quietly before tugging his hand free and taking a few steps back. His eyes glared over the camp before motioning for Juliet to lead the way. She took a few steps forward before her eyes rested on Andrea, who was leaned over her dying sister's body. She froze, her entire frame tensing up at the sight. Her heartbeat felt sluggish, and her fingers twitched in the silence. "You good?" Daryl mumbled, moving his hand to brush her lower back.

She jumped at the sudden contact, but it was enough to push her out of the small trance that had encased her mind. She knew all too well how it felt to see your sibling die in front of you, and the pain that Andrea was feeling flooded into her heart. Daryl's hand shifted back as she flinched, but Juliet only looked at him with tired eyes. "Sorry..I'm sorry. That's just..an all too familiar scenerio."

Daryl's eyebrows furrowed together at her words, and he thought about what she'd said. He had been by her side, watching her back, since the very beginning of the outbreak. It had always just been the three of them, she'd never found her family or anyone else. Whatever she had gone through, it had to have happened before the outbreak and it clearly kept a dark cloud over her being. He didn't respond though, only nodded his head and nudged her forward towards the crowd.


End file.
